Pension funds demand investigation of foreclosure practices
01/10/2011
By Credit.com Staff
A group of 11 different pension funds in five states, led by New York City comptroller John Liu, has asked that the heads of Bank of America, Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo instruct their audit committees to investigate their policies related to loan modification, foreclosure and securitization, according to Liu's government website.
"The banks boards cannot continue to pretend the foreclosure mess is the result of technical glitches and paperwork errors," Liu said. "There is a fundamental problem in their procedures that endangers not just homeowners, but shareholders, and local economies."
In all, the coalition runs more than $430 billion in investments, including $5.7 billion at the four banks in question, and as a result their demands may carry considerable clout, the report said.
Major national lenders' foreclosure procedures have been a point of contention for numerous government agencies in recent months. In early January, a Massachusetts court ruled that thousands of foreclosures had to be overturned because banks did not properly transfer them to other owners.
